Brian GarnerThe judge ruled Wednesday that while the ads may be "sneaky," they are not misleading, and do not justify any action to take them off the air. The judge did state however, that most TV watchers are "semi-catatonic" and therefore can easily misinterpret information presented.
A follow-up hearing date was set for Dec. 16, giving lawyers a second chance to present their case for an injunction. Verizon has claimed that AT&T's suit is without merit
In a new ad comparing the 3G networks of AT&T and Verizon, AT&T claims that it offers a better "3G experience" when compared to Verizon. The ad, which features actor Luke Wilson, points viewers to a website, TruthAbout3G.com that contains the tag-line "When you compare, there's no comparison. AT&T. A better 3G experience."
Both the ad and website tout the speed and features of AT&T's network, with the website claiming that AT&T's 3G network covers 230 million people across the nation. The TV ad makes no mention of 3G coverage area or signal quality.
Verizon's series of ads compare 3G coverage maps of the two companies, with Verizon's maps covering more of the United States than AT&T. The accuracy of the maps are not what is in question, AT&T concedes that they do show the overall 3G coverage areas of both networks. AT&T called the ads in question "false and misleading" because they confuse customers into believing that AT&T has no coverage in the areas highlighted as being devoid of 3G coverage.
AT&T had previously contacted Verizon on Oct. 7, requesting that the ads be withdrawn or modified. Verizon responded by dropping the phrase "out of touch" from the ads and added the words "Voice & data services are available outside 3G coverage areas."
In a response to the initial suit, Verizon stated, "AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's 'There's A Map For That' advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts."
AT&T announced Tuesday that it has plans to upgrade its 3G nationwide network by 2011, a total of 1,900 cell sites are slated to be added by the end of 2009.
Charles Martin
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AppleInsider Staff
86 Comments
As I posted in the iPhone forum, Suck it AT&T! Nobody is falling for your bull****. Beef up your 3G network and stop whining so much.
As I posted in the iPhone forum, Suck it AT&T! Nobody is falling for your bull****. Beef up your 3G network and stop whining so much.
HAHAHAHAH...
After having just left them for an iPhone after nearly 10 years of service, you can be sure I hate Verizon and their anti-customer practices, but boy does AT&T need to "nut up" on this one. They got caught with their pants down and I say more power to them to put AT&T in their place and get them to actually improve their crappy network.
On a related note, I actually compiled my own nationwide AT&T 3G map from all the little regional ones they show you and made a graphical comparison to Verizons and posted it on this forum a while back.. I'm surprised it took Verizon this long to do so. I wonder if they saw my map?? lol
"confuse customers into believing that AT&T has no coverage in the areas highlighted as being devoid of 3G coverage."
This campaign by Verizon does tell the truth. Most people it seems do not do their homework on coverage, they just see the iPhone and they want it now, no matter how bad the service is.
You have two choices between these two companies:
Verizon- little choice, best network
AT&T- lots of apps and customization on iPhone, worse network
Too bad Verizon has to cripple their phones and provide great service, it would be a lot easier if there were two positives to speak of with one of these companies.
To be fair, the new Android phones (the Droid twins) aren't crippled. Hopefully, verizon keeps it that way.
Do people still believe VZW cripples phones (they used to, but my how things change when you start losing customers...)?
Oh and after being thoroughly embarrassed by VZW, they put out a poor counterad with an overweight Luke Wilson, why dont you spend your money upgrading your pathetic ass network AT&T instead of spending it on actors?
Oh and last time i checked, my friend was surfing the web while talking on his droid AT&T, maybe you should beg Apple to give you their advertisement guy?